WHEN Joe Foley pitched the idea of Irish Champions Weekend, it made perfect sense. Ireland had some of the best horses, jockeys and trainers in the world, but no standout fixture to showcase them.

It was to be more than just a national attraction, though; it was a chance for the best in the world- both human and equine - to come to Ireland and take us on, on our home turf.

‘Build it, and they will come,’ and so they did. The Goffs Champions Sale, a swanky dinner on the Saturday night, and the Thoroughbred Trail made it more than just two days of racing.

Though it often struggled to attract the desired calibre of horses, the sale provided a lively prelude to proceedings, and offered racegoers a rare chance to witness a live auction, while the Trail was another opportunity for racing fans to experience unseen elements of our wonderful industry.

The dinner was a chance for us to bring the top industry figures together in one room, to form connections, discuss ideas and shine a light on Irish racing and bloodstock.

It was also a chance to thank sponsors and visitors for their support; such as Economics’ owner and race sponsor, Sheikh Isa, the connections of Japanese raider A Shin Emperor and the enthusiastic owners of Porta Fortuna, who travelled from the US last weekend.

Removed but not replaced

That opportunity wasn’t realised this year, as the dinner, sale and trail have all been scrapped. The racing remains top-class, complete with international runners, but it was a weekend in which the organisers did not realise the full potential it presented.

I wondered why these elements, along with best-dressed competitions, were removed from the event, but Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) declined to answer my questions on the matter - see below. Make of that what you will.

They also didn’t supply any reason behind Longines’ sponsorship ending, other than saying it came to a natural end - this sponsorship added an element of prestige and presumably important funds. Nor did they give reasons for disbanding the original committee of Joe Foley, Harry McCalmont and John O’Connor, which had directed successful early renewals until 2017.

Without them, it seems that HRI have taken their foot off the gas, though that suggests they have remained stationary, when they are, in fact, rolling back down a hill. Don’t just take my word for it - look at the measly crowd at Leopardstown on Saturday, which represented a 23% drop in numbers since the inaugural event.

HRI didn’t appreciate my comments on The Irish Field Podcast regarding what I considered poor promotion of the event - they have their say on page 4. Their response regarding promotion reads as bland as the generic advertising I witnessed, and nothing suggested their spend mirrored that at the Cheltenham Festival (yes, a British meeting), where the likes of Doireann Garrihy and The Two Johnnies were flown in to provide social media content.

What could have been

My criticism stems from a frustration at how good the weekend could be, and has been in the past. In judging the appeal of the current event and its promotion, the best benchmark is attendance, and people spoke with their feet on Saturday.

It was therefore disappointing that HRI gave a positive review in their response to The Irish Field, when I had hoped for a ‘can do better’ attitude.

I’ll end on a positive note, though, and there were plenty of them. The racing itself was top-class, complete with international runners, some thrilling finishes, and a pleasing spread of winning connections.

I really enjoyed my day at the Curragh, and concur with the many who declared it the best crowd and atmosphere since the controversial rebuild. Attention to detail was evident, from flower arrangements inside the grandstand, to the TV screens in the Moyglare Stud-sponsored Kids Zone, so that parents didn’t miss out on the racing action.

RACE brought a simulator, which attracted many young racegoers, and I would suggest that a pre-racing meet-and-greet with jockeys would go down well on both days, having seen many fans requesting autographs and selfies.

Leopardstown appeared to lack that same attention to detail, while the admittedly appealing fastfood trucks and generic coffee van lacked the touch of class expected on a day of that nature. The Curragh’s Shoda café in the Queen’s tower, in contrast, has character, while the Whispering Angel tent had that novelty factor.

All in all, organisers need to ensure that the raceday experience is of the same quality as the action on track. That’s what attracts new customers and gets existing fans off the couch.

Q: What drove renaming the event as the Irish Champions Festival and its rebranding?

A: The name change from Irish Champions Weekend to Irish Champions Festival was based on independent market research and brings the event in line with other racing festivals like Dublin Racing Festival, Punchestown Festival etc.

Q: Was there a reason for Longines’ sponsorship ending?

A: Longines was a valued partner for years and the partnership came to an end in 2022.

Q: Was it a conscious decision not to stage any best dressed competitions over the weekend, as was done in previous years?

Q: Why were the dinner on the Saturday evening and the Thoroughbred Trail on the Sunday morning scrapped? Are there any plans to reintroduce them or similar?

Q: When and why was the original ICF committee disbanded, and who now oversees running the weekend?

Q: There used to be event ambassadors employed to promote ICF, including Ronan O’Gara and Victoria Smurfit. HRI have employed ambassadors for the likes of the Cheltenham Festival, including Doireann Garrihy. Why have there been no ICF ambassadors in recent years?

A: The marketing and entertainment mix on all of our festival days across all racecourses change and evolve from year to year, depending on the objectives set. HRI evaluate the value and impact of all investments including the use of ambassadors, influencers etc after each campaign to determine optimal use of resources.

You will have noticed the significant investment in music, food, bars and marquees at Irish Champions Festival to enhance the customer experience.

We are proud to see the significant growth in international runners across both days – not least the UK-trained and Bahrain-owned Economics and ante-post Arc favourite Shin Emperor from Japan. This reflects the investment in international promotional activity for the weekend this year. The increased UK attendance of racegoers was also very encouraging.